Two people were found dead in Acadia National Park in Maine over the weekend after apparently falling around 100 feet from a cliff, officials have said.
Acadia National Park said in a statement on Saturday that the bodies of two hikers, a man, 28, and a woman, 30, had been recovered that day.
The hikers, both of Rutland, Massachusetts, “appear to have fallen about 100 feet along ice covered cliff bands on Dorr Mountain,” the National Park Service said in the release.
The man and woman had arrived in Bar Harbor, a Maine town which provides a gateway to the mountains of the park, on Tuesday and were last heard from on Thursday around noon, according to the officials.
Concerns for the two people arose on Friday evening after they did not check out of their hotel as scheduled or return to their vehicle.
A search began on Friday evening after family members reported that they had not returned home.
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“The woman discussed being interested in hiking Cadillac Mountain during a cell phone conversation with family members,” the release said.
A search was carried out by National Park Service rangers working with volunteers from Mount Desert Island Search and Rescue and a helicopter from the Maine Forest Service.
An overnight search overnight involved a US Coast Guard helicopter from Cape Cod equipped with thermal imaging technology which searched for heat signatures.
A ground search began on Saturday morning with 15 volunteers and additional park staff. Searchers on foot discovered the bodies late on Saturday morning.
The National Park Service advises people to be careful while walking near cliff ledges and to know the difficulty level of the trail and your physical abilities and limitations before hiking.
On any given week, there are an average of six deaths in the National Park System, CNN reported in 2019.
NPS rangers and Maine State Police are investigating the deaths, with the assistance of Bar Harbor Police Department.
